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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281966">Afterwards</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13'>SasuNarufan13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Drama, Established slash, Implied mature content, M/M, More warnings at the end of the story, Naruto's pov, Timeskips</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:41:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He's expecting a proposal. Not this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>✧ Fantastic Naruto fanfics ✧</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Afterwards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author's note: This is something random I came up with this week, because my mind is weird like that. What else is new?</p>
<p>To avoid spoiling the plot, the IMPORTANT WARNINGS WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE STORY. That way you can decide for yourself whether you want to be warned or not.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.</p>
<p>Additional disclaimer: I don't own Disney, nor any of the stories belonging to the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen.</p>
<p>I hope you'll like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Afterwards</strong>
</p>
<p>He hummed quietly to himself, smiling when he heard the sound of rushing water. He was getting closer to their old meeting spot and he sped up, eager to go meet his boyfriend at the waterfall.</p>
<p>The waterfall wasn't that impressively big, being in the middle of a small forest, but it possessed a sort of tranquillity that couldn't be found anywhere else in the village. It was also the place where they had had their first date and their first kiss, and thus it had quickly become Naruto's top favourite place.</p>
<p>It had been a little while since they had last visited the waterfall, so he was pleasantly surprised when Sasuke had texted him an hour ago, asking him to meet him at the waterfall once his shift was over. There hadn't been any indication in the text what Sasuke wanted to do, only a request to meet him at their spot, and he wondered whether the other man had something special in mind. But what could he possibly be –</p>
<p>He almost tripped over a tree root when an idea popped up as to why Sasuke was asking him to meet him there: <em>what if he was going to propose?</em></p>
<p>That idea had him abruptly halting next to a thorny bush and his breathing was loud in the otherwise silent forest. Oh god, was that it? Was that what Sasuke was planning? Was he going to propose to him at the waterfall? They had talked about getting married in the future, but hadn't set an actual date yet when one of them would propose. They had been together for two years now, but had been best friends for nearly ten years, so they knew each other very well by now.</p>
<p>Naruto had just figured that one of them would propose once the time was right – did Sasuke consider the time right now? In that case he wasn't about to complain!</p>
<p>Trying to calm himself down – it wasn't sure yet that Sasuke was going to propose, no sense in becoming too excited – he started walking again, feeling both nervous and excited. The sun had broken through the clouds again and was filtering through the leaf roof, causing the last raindrops clinging to the leaves to glisten like diamonds. He breathed in the fresh forest scent and used that to calm down; his footsteps muffled by the dead leaves on the ground.</p>
<p>When he broke out of the tree line, his heart started beating faster when he saw Sasuke waiting in front of the waterfall. He stood with his back to Naruto and was dressed in a nice, black sweater and jeans, which meant he must have stopped by their place to change out of his suit.</p>
<p>"Hey, I hope I didn't make you wait too long," Naruto called out, hurriedly walking over to the dark haired man.</p>
<p>Sasuke turned around, his face unreadable. "No, you've made me wait for much longer than this before," he said dryly; his hands stuffed in his pockets.</p>
<p>Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Naruto tried to see if he could catch the outline of a small box – like say, one which could possibly contain a ring – in one of the pockets. He couldn't immediately, but it was always possible that Sasuke had discarded the box and kept the ring in his pocket.</p>
<p><em>Best not to get ahead of myself too much</em>, he reminded himself sternly and halted in front of Sasuke. "I'm not that bad," he defended himself, a tad petulant.</p>
<p>"You've improved in the latter years, that's true," Sasuke conceded and the ghost of a smirk flashed across his face for just a few seconds before his face grew blank once more.</p>
<p>"So, erm, not that I mind visiting the waterfall with you, but is there a particular reason why you asked me to come here?" Naruto asked nervously, linking his hands together behind his back to hide the slight tremble in them.</p>
<p>"There's something I need to say to you," Sasuke murmured and he hesitated then, his eyes flicking to the left; a faint frown creasing his forehead.</p>
<p>"Okay?" Naruto prompted him when he remained silent for a long time. Was he nervous about something? Or was that just his wishful thinking?</p>
<p>"I want you to know that these last two years have been amazing," Sasuke started, his gaze focusing on Naruto.</p>
<p>The blond man perked up, excitedly wondering whether this was the start of Sasuke's proposal. It definitely sounded like one, considering he usually wasn't this open about his emotions!</p>
<p>"I know, for me too – though the years before those weren't too bad either," he teased, nudging Sasuke's foot with his.</p>
<p>"We've had our ups and downs, but we always pushed through them," Sasuke continued and Naruto nodded, agreeing.</p>
<p>Their arguments could definitely become rather explosive, stubborn as hell as they both were, but they always managed to get past them without ever crossing a line.</p>
<p>"That said …" he trailed off, hesitating again.</p>
<p>"That said?"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, but I don't love you anymore."</p>
<p>"Of course I'm going to – wait, what?" Naruto jerked back, staring in disbelief at Sasuke. He couldn't have heard what he had just heard, right? His ears must be playing tricks on him, the waterfall was a bit too loud now, there was no way –</p>
<p>"I don't love you anymore. I'm sorry, but I want to break up," Sasuke stated; his voice completely devoid of the slightest emotion.</p>
<p>He stood there in front of Naruto, calmly, his face blank, as if he was merely giving a presentation at his firm and not breaking up with his boyfriend of two years and his best friend of ten.</p>
<p>This was not how this meeting was supposed to go! They were supposed to be cuddling right now, or kissing, or – or celebrating they were going to get married! He couldn't be breaking up with him, he couldn't! Nothing was wrong with their relationship, so why would they break up?</p>
<p>"But – but why? I don't understand," Naruto said, pleading for the other one to explain what was happening, to admit that this was just a cruel prank because Naruto had once again forgotten to do the dishes this morning.</p>
<p>Because this had to be a cruel prank, there was no way Sasuke was actually serious, no way he was breaking up with him.</p>
<p>"What's there not to understand, Naruto?" Sasuke asked and for the first time since he had arrived, he started to sound impatient. "I'm no longer in love with you and I don't want to be with you anymore, that's it."</p>
<p>"How long?" There was an annoying ringing in his ears, as if someone was pressing on a bell constantly and he started feeling lightheaded as if he was holding his breath for too long.</p>
<p>"A few weeks," Sasuke answered monotonously.</p>
<p>"A few weeks? We had sex two days ago still!" Naruto choked out, balling his hands into fists. "You're telling me you've been wanting to break up with me for a few weeks now and still fucked me?" His voice grew shrill towards the end, but he didn't care, because nothing about this made sense!</p>
<p>He could vividly remember how tight Sasuke had gripped his hips, how he had gasped and moaned as Naruto had ridden him; the way his eyes had burnt when Naruto had come, gasping his name.</p>
<p>He hadn't looked like a man about to break up with his boyfriend. Not at all.</p>
<p>"A final goodbye," Sasuke said simply and then his shoulders slumped; his eyes looking weary. "Look, don't make this harder than it has to be, okay? This isn't easy for me either. I've tried so hard to keep loving you, but – I just can't. Not anymore."</p>
<p><em>Not anymore. Not anymore</em>. The words kept bouncing around in his head as he stood there frozen, trying to comprehend how his life had suddenly turned upside down this badly. How had he gone from expecting a proposal to being broken up with? How the hell had he managed to miss all those glaring signs that Sasuke had stopped loving him? Was he really as oblivious as Sakura had always exasperatedly told him he was?</p>
<p>But – he had believed they had something good going between them, maybe even the type of love that would last forever just like between his parents. How had it gone so badly wrong? Had he done something to annoy Sasuke so much that he had stopped loving him? What then?</p>
<p>They hadn't had a fight in weeks – should he have expected that as a sign?</p>
<p>"Sasuke, I love you," he said brokenly, reaching out with his hand.</p>
<p>Sasuke stepping away from his touch felt like a harsh slap in the face and he could only stare at him, watching with growing despair how those black eyes – so warm before, always for him – turned blank now, almost indifferent.</p>
<p>Seeing that look directed at him now, a look Sasuke normally only used on people he just barely tolerated – <em>it hurt</em>.</p>
<p>"I don't love you anymore. I'm sorry, Naruto, but this is goodbye," Sasuke murmured and stepped around him. "Don't worry about the apartment; I already moved out my stuff. You can keep it if you want."</p>
<p><strong>I don't want the fucking apartment, I want you! </strong>He wanted to scream those words, yell them, but they got stuck in his throat and he could only watch how Sasuke walked away from him, back to the trees.</p>
<p>Without looking back once.</p>
<p>As the strength in his legs abruptly left him, forcing him to sink down on his knees on the ground, he absurdly thought that he should have taken the double shift today anyway.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Somehow he ended up at his parents' house. He didn't know whether he had called mum or whether she had called him. All he knew was that when he finally stumbled out of the forest, she was there waiting for him, her face pinched with worry as she ushered him into the car.</p>
<p>Once at his old home, she steered him to the couch, wrapped a fluffy purple blanket around him, made the both of them some hot chocolate and then settled down next to him; her legs tucked next to her.</p>
<p>It was when she started caressing his hair gently that he broke down, clutching the blanket tightly. "He – he broke up with me, mum," he choked out, the lump in his throat far too big, his eyes burning hot and his lungs feeling too constricted, like he would never be able to take another deep breath.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she murmured, drawing him into a tight hug. "Let it all out, okay? I'm here."</p>
<p>He shook his head, more and more tears pouring down, his chest hurting with the painful sobs pushing through even though he tried so hard to contain himself.</p>
<p>"I just – I – I don't get it. We were happy, I – I thought – I really thought he – he was going – going to propose and then he just … He broke up with me. He broke up with me, mum, he said he no longer loved me," he cried, clutching tightly at her back. If he was hurting her, she didn't show it, she just kept caressing his head, making shushing noises. "He told me he tried, but that he couldn't do it an-anymore and – I – I don't understand! I don't know what – what I did wrong for – for him to stop loving me."</p>
<p>"Hey, hey, you did nothing wrong, honey, don't think like that," she immediately denied, kissing his temple. "Whatever his reasons are, this isn't your fault."</p>
<p>"I thought we were going to get married," he whispered miserably.</p>
<p>"I know, Naru, I know," she murmured and hugged him just as tightly as she had done when he'd still been a kid and he had fallen down and hurt himself. "You can stay here tonight, all right? You can sleep here."</p>
<p>"No, no, I need to go back to my apartment and, and - "</p>
<p>Yeah, do what exactly? It wasn't like he had to wait for Sasuke to come home any longer. He wouldn't come home again now. That thought hurt even more, making it harder for him to breathe.</p>
<p>"I don't think that's a good idea now," she said softly, kissing his forehead. "Everything's still too fresh now, give yourself some time first."</p>
<p>He slumped in her embrace, too tired to keep protesting. It wasn't like he was looking forward to going back to his apartment now, anyways, where he would be all alone now. When had Sasuke even emptied out his stuff? Nothing had seemed amiss when Naruto left this morning. Had Sasuke returned to the apartment after he left to remove all this stuff? That seemed likely, considering he had also changed his clothes.</p>
<p>He didn't know what hurt more: the fact that with all his stuff already gone, he wouldn't have any excuse anymore to see Sasuke again or that everything had already been removed before Sasuke broke up with him.</p>
<p>Once more he wondered where everything had gone so wrong. He went over the past couple of months in his head, trying to figure out which event had been the tipping point for Sasuke, what had made him decide that he could no longer love him. He couldn't think of any, couldn't remember any argument worse enough that would warrant the other man to stop loving him.</p>
<p>"I just don't understand." He hated how small his voice sounded, like a kid instead of the adult he actually was.</p>
<p>"Sometimes people just fall out of love. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, Naruto," Mum said quietly.</p>
<p>"I just – I thought we would be together forever, you know?"</p>
<p>"I know," she sighed and started rocking him back and forth. "I'm really sorry, Naruto."</p>
<p>He just buried his face in her shoulder, uncaring that his tears dampened her shirt.</p>
<hr/>
<p>At one point dad arrived home and he and mum held a whispered conversation before she carefully extracted herself from the couch, leaving dad to take up her place.</p>
<p>The older man didn't say anything, but just slung his arm around Naruto's shoulders and let him lean against him, like a silent pillar of support.</p>
<p>By the time his dad helped him upstairs to his old bedroom, he had cried so much that he fell into an exhausted slumber the second his head hit the pillow.</p>
<p>Mercifully – or not, depending on how you looked at it – he didn't dream of Sasuke once.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Gaara showed up the next day in the afternoon when Naruto had gathered enough strength to walk into the apartment again. Immediately it was obvious that several things were missing and the sight of those empty spots ached so much that he curled up on the couch again, not ready yet to confront the bedroom where surely half of the stuff would be gone too.</p>
<p>Gaara let himself inside with the key Naruto had given him a while ago, something he very rarely did, so he must have heard from mum or dad what had happened. His footsteps were muffled as he walked through the apartment, going into the kitchen first before he retraced his steps and went into the living room. He halted in front of the couch and Naruto peeked up at him, sitting up from the curled position he had assumed. Gaara stared back at him, his face blank but his green eyes soft.</p>
<p>"You can say it, you know," he muttered, raising his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees. "How you warned me before that falling in love with your best friend was a stupid idea."</p>
<p>The red haired man uttered a soft sigh and sank down on the couch next to him. "For what it's worth, I really thought you two would stay together for the rest of your lives."</p>
<p>"Yeah, me too. Guess I was the only one," Naruto said bitterly. "I feel so stupid now. I should never have asked him out, because now our friendship is ruined too."</p>
<p>"If you hadn't, you probably would have regretted not doing so," Gaara murmured.</p>
<p>He hated that Gaara was right. He had taken a huge gamble two years ago by asking out Sasuke on a date and had been delirious when the man had actually said yes. He'd been basically on cloud nine afterwards, even with the arguments they occasionally had had and had truly believed that he would have his fairy tale ending just like his parents had.</p>
<p>Except his fairy tale ending didn't resemble the Disney variant, but the actual gruesome endings of the Grimm brothers or even Andersen. Without the blood and violence of course, but nevertheless it wasn't a sweet ending.</p>
<p>"I'm starting to think I'm not cut out to be loved," he mumbled darkly. "Shion broke up with me because she was bored, Haku because he fell in love with someone else, Hana cheated on me … And now S-Sasuke broke up with me." Saying his name was harder than he thought it would be and he swallowed; a foul taste coating his tongue.</p>
<p>"Don't think like that," Gaara said sharply. "You just had some bad luck, that's all. Doesn't mean you're impossible to love."</p>
<p>"Thanks, but … I've been trying to figure out what made him change his mind, and I still don't understand it," he said frustrated, digging his fingers in his kneecaps.</p>
<p>Gaara knocked their shoulders together gently. "Give it a few days and then go ask him."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Gaara's advice had been sound, but when Naruto tried to call Sasuke a week later, he was informed that the number he tried to reach was no longer in service. Which great, now Sasuke didn't even want to call him anymore.</p>
<p>Still determined to find out just what had made Sasuke fall out of love with him, he went to his firm seeing as he had no idea where Sasuke was staying now and he didn't feel brave enough yet to try his parents' house. The last thing he needed was to see pity on either Mikoto's, Itachi's or god forbid, Fugaku's face.</p>
<p>At the firm, however, he was informed that Sasuke no longer worked there, but had been transferred somewhere else instead. Where, they refused to tell him.</p>
<p>He left the tall building utterly confused and a dark part wondering whether Sasuke was really going this far all to never have to see him again. That didn't make him feel better about himself.</p>
<p>If Sasuke was going this far just to never see him again, did that mean he had something so horribly unforgiveable? He couldn't remember having pissed off Sasuke extremely badly, however, and there would obviously no answers be given to him.</p>
<p>Just as quickly as Sasuke had appeared in his life, he had disappeared again. If he wasn't feeling so absolutely wretched about it, he would have admired him for being able to completely wipe out his presence in Naruto's life.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Life went on, of course, and work drew him in with shift after shift. At least there his mind was too occupied to think about Sasuke, but the second he set foot inside his apartment in the evening, he was painfully reminded that nobody would be waiting for him anymore.</p>
<p>Mum and dad had offered to let him stay at home for a while, but what was the point? He would have to get used to being alone again, whether that was at his parents' home or at his own apartment.</p>
<p>It was hard, though, seeing all those empty spots reminding him of what he had lost. His breakups in the past had been rather painful, but they seemed laughable in comparison to how he was feeling now. It felt like a part had literally been ripped away from him, like a limb being lost, and the ache refused to lessen even as the days passed into weeks and those into months.</p>
<p>Every day he wondered what he had done wrong to lose Sasuke, what he could have done better in order to have him stay with him. That wasn't healthy, he knew, but he couldn't help it. Sasuke had been the only person he had thought he would grow old with; he had been so sure that they were the forever kind of type, had already secretly dreamt of how their wedding would be and how many kids they would adopt.</p>
<p>But Sasuke hadn't felt the same and forever had only lasted two years in the end.</p>
<p>Maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if he knew why exactly Sasuke had broken up with him, what the tipping point had been, but the only person who could tell him that seemed to have completely disappeared from earth, leaving no trace behind.</p>
<p>He supposed he could try to contact Sasuke's parents or his brother, he knew where both lived, but … It wouldn't be the same. He didn't want to see them all because he couldn't get his ex-boyfriend to contact him.</p>
<p>"Everything sucks," he said aloud in his bed.</p>
<p>Nobody answered, of course. There hadn't been any answer in four months.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Checking his watch, he saw that it was already nearing six thirty and decided it was time to turn around and leave the park before the gates would lock.</p>
<p>He'd taken to walking around the park, the forest still too painful, in an attempt to empty his mind. Some days it worked better than others. He needed something to distract himself, though, before he would drive himself absolutely insane.</p>
<p>It had been five months since Sasuke had broken up with him. Five months since he left him behind in the forest, cutting off every form of contact.</p>
<p>Five months in which he'd been wondering just where the hell things had gone so south between them that Sasuke had decided to break up with him.</p>
<p>He knew his parents were worrying about him, that his friends were growing concerned with how quiet and withdrawn he had become. Even his co-workers had noticed something was amiss and tried to coax him to go out with them, some of the girls even boldly claiming that all he needed was a good fuck to get Sasuke out of his head.</p>
<p>He ignored them. If all he needed was a fuck, he would have gone to a club already, but he knew that wouldn't work. He'd never been the type to have a one nightstand and with how much he still thought about Sasuke, there was no way he could even muster up a strand of interest in someone else now.</p>
<p>The gravel crunched quietly underneath his shoes and he deftly avoided the puddles from this morning's bout of rain, listening to the birds chirping loudly above him. It being the middle of the summer, it was fairly hot still at this time of the day and he swatted away some annoying mosquitos when they buzzed too closely to him for comfort.</p>
<p>The path bended to the left, letting him know he was close to the gates, but a familiar voice just out of sight had him freezing, coming to an abrupt stop. He probably looked like an idiot right now, stopping in the middle of the path, but he didn't care. Not when he could heard that painfully familiar voice talking so clearly just a couple of feet away, hidden behind some thick trees.</p>
<p>"How's he adjusting, un?" Deidara asked curiously.</p>
<p>Deidara was Itachi's friend, though Naruto and Sasuke had speculated for a while whether there wasn't anything more between the older men. If there was, they were remarkably good at hiding it.</p>
<p>"As well as one can in this situation, I suppose," Itachi sighed. "He barely leaves the house."</p>
<p>"Did you try to convince him to - "</p>
<p>"Yes, multiple times already, but he won't listen. Says he's better off without him."</p>
<p>Naruto bit down harshly on his lower lip, wondering rather paranoidly whether they were talking about him.</p>
<p>"How are his appointments going, un?"</p>
<p>"The doctors try to be optimistic, but while he hasn't worsened, he hasn't improved either," Itachi replied; his voice almost too low to hear.</p>
<p>Naruto heard him, however. Loud and clear even and what he had heard, sent him propelling forwards, his heart beating like mad, pounding loudly in his ears as he hastily rounded the corner, coming face to face with a surprised Itachi and Deidara.</p>
<p>His eyes flitting wildly back and forth between the two men, he demanded, "What the hell is wrong with Sasuke?"</p>
<hr/>
<p>He was going to be sick any moment now, he just knew it. His stomach was rebelling against him, flipping and turning and churning and he paused to take a shuddering breath. His hands were trembling slightly and he scowled, stuffing them into the pockets of his hoodie.</p>
<p>It was raining softly and the grey clouds somehow made the house in front of him look even more intimidating. It wasn't ridiculously large by any means, but still it was enough to make Naruto feel as small as an ant in front of it.</p>
<p>There was no car present, but he hadn't expected any. There was no light shining through the windows at the front, but that didn't have to mean anything either.</p>
<p>Swallowing with some difficulty, he took the last remaining steps to the front door. He stood there for a moment, trying to calm down, but when that turned out to be a lost case, he just took a deep breath and knocked on the door; the knocks reverberating in his head.</p>
<p>Seconds ticked by and there was the sound of approaching footsteps, followed by the noise of a door unlocking.</p>
<p>His mouth dried up when the door swung open, revealing the other man. Dark eyes widened a notch when they landed on him before they narrowed and he tsk'd.</p>
<p>"Itachi," he said through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>"Don't be mad at him. I made him tell me and you know how annoyingly persistent I can be," Naruto said and tried to smile, but his lips refused to cooperate.</p>
<p>"Somehow I doubt he kicked up a lot of fuss before giving in," Sasuke said darkly. "What are you doing here?"</p>
<p>"Can we – can we talk? Inside?" Naruto added hesitatingly, not wanting to have this particular conversation in the open.</p>
<p>Sasuke's mouth tightened and he looked ready to slam the door shut, but then he grunted and turned around, disappearing into the hallway and leaving the door open.</p>
<p>Uncertainly Naruto stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind him and slipping out of his shoes. On bare feet he padded further, ignoring how the coldness of the tiles seeped into his socks.</p>
<p>He found Sasuke in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. The defensive posture had Naruto stopping next to the table, fidgeting awkwardly.</p>
<p>When the silence grew more than uncomfortable, Sasuke sighed and rolled his shoulders. "What do you want to talk about?"</p>
<p>"I – you know how we talked about getting married?" Naruto blurted out and he knew he'd taken Sasuke aback by the way he jerked his head, staring at him.</p>
<p>"Yes, what about it?" he asked clipped.</p>
<p>"In the vows, there's this part that says 'in sickness and in health', right?"</p>
<p>Sasuke stilled, resembling a statue more than an actual living human being now.</p>
<p>"I always thought that was silly to add, because if you get married, that means you love that person enough to stay with them even in the bad times, no?" Naruto started rambling, growing more and more nervous with each second that passed with Sasuke remaining quiet. "Even if they get sick, you love them enough to stay with them, to not leave them when things get difficult. So I thought that it was unnecessary to add that part, because you're supposed to do that anyway. But now I realise that that part isn't so unnecessary after all, because some people seem to need that verbal reassurance that they won't be left behind."</p>
<p>"Naruto, shut up," Sasuke said quietly; looking paler than before.</p>
<p>"No, no, I'm not going to shut up," Naruto retorted and took a step closer, his breathing quickening. "Because one of us has to talk and it's become clear that I'm the only one doing it. Why the hell didn't you tell me that you are turning - "</p>
<p>"Blind?" Sasuke cut him off harshly and he quietened at once. "What the hell was I supposed to say, Naruto? That my eyes are apparently so fucked up that glasses won't help me for long? That the doctors are giving me two years at most before I turn completely blind? That I have maybe two years left before I become a burden to everyone? Or that I didn't want you to be stuck with someone who wouldn't be able to see anymore, that I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay with me out of FUCKING PITY!" He ended up screaming the last words so loudly Naruto swore he saw the window rattling.</p>
<p>"I would never pity you," Naruto said softly. "And I wouldn't stay with you out of pity. I would stay with you because I love you and because I don't care that you're going blind."</p>
<p>Sasuke snorted harshly, looking away. "That's easy for you to say now," he said darkly. "I can't do anything with that romantic bullshit, Naruto. Do you have any idea how much my life will change once I lose my sight? How I'm now practicing with the layout of this house just so I'll be prepared in a few years?"</p>
<p>"I don't," Naruto said honestly, taking another step closer. "But I want you to teach me. I want to practice with you, I want to be as prepared as you are. Because I love you and that won't change even when you lose your eyesight."</p>
<p>"I can't do that to you, Naruto. You don't deserve to be stuck with someone handicapped," Sasuke said wearily.</p>
<p>"How about you let me decide what I deserve?" the blond countered firmly. "I think I know best what I want and what I want is you back: my best friend, my boyfriend and the man I'm hoping to spend the rest of my life with – blind or not."</p>
<p>"You don't know - " Sasuke tried again, but he shook his head.</p>
<p>"Would you have left me if I was the one going blind?"</p>
<p>"No, of course not," Sasuke instantly replied, frowning heavily.</p>
<p>"Then trust that I won't leave either. Blind or not, you're still my Sasuke. My best friend." He swallowed, pushing down the lump forming in his throat. "I don't care about anything else, as long as I have you. We can learn together, can't we?"</p>
<p>"If you want out - "</p>
<p>"Then I'll tell you. But I won't want that," Naruto replied; his confidence growing when Sasuke didn't back away from his approach. "And if you want out, because you truly don't love me anymore, then I'll accept that. But not because you think I won't want to stay with you anymore once you lose your sight."</p>
<p>Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "I wanted to give you a chance to build a life with someone uncomplicated."</p>
<p>"Uncomplicated is boring," Naruto quipped and dared to brush his hand against Sasuke's arm. "I want to build my life with <em>you</em> instead, if that's okay with you."</p>
<p>Sasuke gazed at him intently before he smiled almost tentatively. "That's okay with me."</p>
<p>Naruto smiled back, closing the last remaining distance between them. "In sickness and in health, remember?" he whispered, tilting his head slightly back in order to keep looking into Sasuke's eyes.</p>
<p>It had been far too long since he'd last seen them, but it was just as easy to drown in them as it had been before.</p>
<p>"In sickness and in health," Sasuke agreed, his hand cupping the back of Naruto's head.</p>
<p>Naruto closed his eyes, shivering at the warm touch and their mouths met for the first time in five months again for the sweetest kiss he had ever experienced.</p>
<p>It wasn't going to be easy, navigating around Sasuke's condition, but they could do it, he knew. As long as they had each other, they could weather any type of storm heading their way, even if that storm came in the form of future blindness.</p>
<p>It didn't matter. What mattered was that they had each other again.</p>
<p>In sickness and in health. For the rest of their lives together.</p>
<p>
  <strong>The End</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AN2: Important warnings: break up; getting back together; Sasuke turning blind in the future</p>
<p>Don't ask me how I came up with this idea, I don't know. I'm just going along with what my brain comes up with. I hope this wasn't too awful!</p>
<p>Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.</p>
<p>I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!</p>
<p>Cuddles</p>
<p>Melissa</p></blockquote></div></div>
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